Factor done cut himself a damn classic, and his whole Fake Four clan hitched along for the ride. With this deep and infinitely consuming ode to his grandfather, Lawson Graham, the indie-cult-favored Canadian beat wiz twists past conventions into complicated futuristic easy listening like no other producer on the outer throes of hip-hop.

Few in the genre’s history (short of maybe Dan the Automator) have so seamlessly segued back and forth between such balladry as “Every Morning” and drum-cranked crack like “Living in a Vacuum” with Sole and Radical Face. Almost always relying on steady cross-rhythms and irrefutable melodies — elements that separate him from the larger fringe-rap community — he’s every bit as likable as RJD2 in his early prime.

Like Nightmares on Wax and ye olde Deadringer, Factor is a multi-faceted conductor in his own right, and he’s capable of harnessing the strengths of harder acts like 2Mex (on the cherubic “Mental Illness”), as well as of such rap-singer types as Josh Martinez (on the bubble-gum-and-hayseed-filled “Popstravaganza”). Throw in some delightful candy-coated Monkees business like “Oh Oh Andy” and what you have is tomorrow’s ideal boom-bap crossover project.

Music Seen: All over Last week we spent five of six nights out on the town. If anyone ever complains that we don't have enough venues or shows to attend we beg to differ.

Beyond Dilla and Dipset With a semi-sober face I'll claim that hip-hop in 2010 might deliver more than just posthumous Dilla discs, Dipset mixtapes, and a new ignoramus coke rapper whom critics pretend rhymes in triple-entendres.

RJD2 | The Colossus RJD2 has fallen prey to self-doubt — having decided, it would seem, that sample-based music lacks authenticity, he's embarked on an ill-advised attempt to become a "performer."

Ivory and ebony Hip-hop will never be post-racial. Pigment plays a major role at every level, and that's not always a bad thing.

CZARFACE SOARS ABOVE THE CLOUDS | February 11, 2013 This week 7LES and Inspectah Deck drop Czarface , a full-length work of adventurous genius revolving around a metal-clad protagonist who feeds on destruction.

THE BPD ADDS INSULT TO INJURY | February 05, 2013 At times, this kind of decision makes you wonder whether the BPD is saving its best awards for officers who've been involved in the death of civilians.